De Blasio: Government Will Have to Help Rebuild Middle Class

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has plans to rebuild the middle class but not without the active involvement of the government.

"We have to reconstruct the kind of middle class we used to have," de Blasio said Monday in an interview on WNYC radio. "It will require very substantial government investments and actions."

"It won't happen by letting the free market go unfettered; it won't happen with trickle-down economics," he added. "It will only happen with a very systematic strategy to restore the middle class."

The mayor cited an expansion of paid sick leave, quality job creation, higher wages, and better benefits by expanding living wage laws, especially for companies that de Blasio says are subsidized by the city.

He also said that efforts are being made to implement universal pre-k, which some fear may come at the expense of charter schools in the city.

"Fighting [income] inequality happens on many, many fronts," de Blasio said. "The great news is that the city council wants to be shoulder-to-shoulder with us in this."

De Blasio said he plans to address the issues raised in the radio interview as part of his State of the City address scheduled for Feb. 10.